US20050206938A1 - Printer management method, printer management apparatus, and program for printer management - Google Patents
Printer management method, printer management apparatus, and program for printer management Download PDFInfo
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- US20050206938A1 US20050206938A1 US10/936,588 US93658804A US2005206938A1 US 20050206938 A1 US20050206938 A1 US 20050206938A1 US 93658804 A US93658804 A US 93658804A US 2005206938 A1 US2005206938 A1 US 2005206938A1
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- Prior art keywords
- printer
- printers
- registration
- uninstalling
- information processing
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1202—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
- G06F3/1203—Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. print management
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1223—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to use a particular technique
- G06F3/1224—Client or server resources management
- G06F3/1225—Software update, e.g. print driver, modules, plug-ins, fonts
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
- G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
- G06F3/12—Digital output to print unit, e.g. line printer, chain printer
- G06F3/1201—Dedicated interfaces to print systems
- G06F3/1202—Dedicated interfaces to print systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
- G06F3/1218—Reducing or saving of used resources, e.g. avoiding waste of consumables or improving usage of hardware resources
- G06F3/122—Reducing or saving of used resources, e.g. avoiding waste of consumables or improving usage of hardware resources with regard to computing resources, e.g. memory, CPU
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a printer management method, a printer management apparatus, and a program for printer management, and more particularly to a printer management method, a printer management apparatus, and a program for printer management that manage printers usable in an information processing apparatus.
- printers registered to the information processing apparatus once they are used, are not always used again. Some printers are never used again. However, such printers that are never used again are kept to be registered to the information processing apparatus as unnecessary printers. These unnecessary printers may act as a disturbance in selecting a printer to be used.
- the printer driver which has been used in a print processing is uninstalled when the print processing is completed. Therefore, for a printer to be used plural times, it is necessary to install a printer driver of the printer each time the print processing is carried out.
- the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a printer management method, a printer management apparatus, and a program for printer management that determine printers to be removed from the registration based on the various conditions such as situations of using printers, thereby preventing unnecessary printers from being kept to be registered to an information processing apparatus.
- a printer management method for managing printers available for an information processing apparatus is configured as comprising the steps of obtaining the number of the printers registered to the information processing apparatus; and removing the registration of the printer meeting a prescribed condition, if the obtained registered number exceeds a prescribed value.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an example an information processing apparatus to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied;
- FIG. 2 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen
- FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing by a driver management section 10 ;
- FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a registration removal processing for printers
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus in a second embodiment
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing by a driver management section 30 ;
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing according to a third embodiment
- FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus in a fourth embodiment
- FIG. 9 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen in the fourth embodiment.
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a registration removal processing for printers in the fourth embodiment.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.
- the information processing apparatus 1 includes a driver management section 10 .
- the driver management section 10 manages printers registered to the information processing apparatus 1 by operating printer drivers 20 .
- the driver management section 10 comprises a timer unit 11 , an uninstalling condition setting unit 12 , a printer monitoring unit 13 , a use frequency determining unit 14 , and a registration removal processing unit 15 .
- the timer unit 11 measures a time interval for causing the driver management section 10 to periodically carry out management processing for the printer drivers.
- the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 sets conditions for determining printers that are to be removed from the registration as unnecessary printers.
- the printer monitoring unit 13 obtains the number of the printer drivers 20 installed on the information processing apparatus 1 , and respective frequencies of use of the printer drivers 20 .
- the use frequency determining unit 14 determines printers that are to be removed from the registration as unnecessary printers based on the conditions set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 , if the number of the printer drivers obtained by the printer monitoring unit 13 exceeds the number set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 .
- the registration removal processing unit 15 uninstalls and/or backs up the printer drivers 20 of the printers determined as unnecessary printers by the use frequency determining unit 14 , and then removes the registrations of these printers.
- the driver management section 10 is operated by causing the information processing apparatus 1 to operate based on a driver management program.
- FIG. 2 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen.
- the uninstalling conditions are set by displaying such an uninstalling condition setting screen as shown in FIG. 2 on a display unit (not shown) of the information processing apparatus 1 , and receiving the instructions from a user through the uninstalling condition setting screen.
- the setting of the uninstalling conditions include a setting as to whether the monitor of the printers, namely the driver management section 10 , is used or not, and specifying as to whether the printer drivers of the printers with a low frequency of use are uninstalled and/or backed up, if the number of the registered printers exceeds a threshold for the removal of the printer registrations.
- the backup of the printer means the processing of storing a group of files constituting the printer driver, and a file in which settings of the printer driver are recorded, in a memory unit (not shown) of the information processing apparatus 1 . Then, uninstalling of the printer driver is performed. Thus, the processing allows a subsequent recovery of the printer driver.
- FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing performed by the driver management section 10 .
- the printer monitoring unit 13 When the driver management section 10 starts the driver management processing, the printer monitoring unit 13 first obtains the number of the printers registered to the information processing apparatus 1 , namely the number of the installed printer drivers 20 (step 101 ). Then, the use frequency determining unit 14 compares the number of the printers obtained by the printer monitoring unit 13 with the number of the printers (threshold) set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 . If the number of the registered printers exceeds the specified number (“YES” in a step 102 ), registration removal processing for the printers described later is carried out (step 103 ), and the operation is waited for a specified time period (step 104 ).
- step 104 the specified time period is measured by the timer unit 11 , and when the specified time period has elapsed, the driver management section 10 returns the operation to the step 101 , and repeats the same processing.
- FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the registration removal processing for the printers.
- the printer monitoring unit 13 first obtains printer information on the registered printers (step 131 ).
- the printer information includes at least information indicating the frequency of use of the printers.
- the printer monitoring unit 13 obtains the printer information from all of the registered printers (step 132 ).
- the use frequency determining unit 14 selects printers whose frequency of use is the lowest based on the obtained printer information (step 133 ). Then, if the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 has specified the backup of the printers (“YES” in a step 134 ), the registration removal processing unit 15 backs up the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 135 ), and then, uninstalls the printer drivers (step 136 ). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes. On the other hand, if the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 has specified the uninstallation of the printers (“NO” in the step 134 ), the registration removal processing unit 15 uninstalls the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 136 ). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes.
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus 1 ′ in a second embodiment.
- the information processing apparatus 1 ′ includes a driver management section 30 .
- the driver management section 30 manages printers registered to the information processing apparatus 1 ′ by operating printer drivers 20 .
- the driver management section 30 further includes an event detecting unit 31 , an uninstalling condition setting unit 32 , a printer monitoring unit 33 , a use frequency determining unit 34 , and a registration removal processing unit 35 .
- the event detecting unit 31 detects events occurring in the information processing apparatus 1 ′, and especially detects a request for registering a printer from a user.
- the uninstalling condition setting unit 32 , the printer monitoring unit 33 , the use frequency determining unit 34 , and the registration removal processing unit 35 respectively correspond to the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 , the printer monitoring unit 13 , the use frequency determining unit 14 , and the registration removal processing unit 15 in the first embodiment.
- the driver management section 30 is operated by causing the information processing apparatus 1 ′ to operate based on a driver management program.
- the driver management program may be constituted as a part of an installer which installs the printer driver.
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing by the driver management section 30 .
- the driver management section 30 When the driver management section 30 starts the driver management processing, the driver management section 30 first waits until the event detecting unit 31 detects a request for registering a printer from a user (“NO” in a step 201 ). Then, if the event detecting unit 31 detects the request for registering a printer (“YES” in the step 201 ), the printer monitoring unit 33 obtains the number of the printers registered to the information processing apparatus 1 ′, namely the number of the registered printer drivers 20 (step 202 ). Then, the use frequency determining unit 34 compares the number of the printers obtained by the printer monitoring unit 33 with the number of the printers (threshold) set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 32 .
- step 203 If the number of the registered printers exceeds the specified number (“YES” in a step 203 ), registration removal processing for the printers is carried out (step 204 ). On the other hand, if the number of the registered printers does not exceed the specified number (“NO” in the step 203 ), the registration removal processing for the printers is not carried out.
- driver management program realizing the driver management section 30 is constituted as the part of the installer which installs the printer driver, registration processing for a printer is subsequently carried out (step 205 ).
- the registration removal processing for the printers in the step 204 is similar to the registration removal processing for the printers in the first embodiment (see FIG. 4 ), and thus, a description thereof is omitted.
- a basic configuration of an information processing apparatus is similar to that of the information processing apparatus 1 ′ in the second embodiment (see FIG. 5 ). Therefore, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 5 .
- the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that, in the third embodiment, the event detecting unit 31 detects execution of print processing based on the printer driver 20 .
- a driver management program realizing the driver management section 30 in the third embodiment may be constituted as a part of the printer driver.
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing in the third embodiment.
- the driver management section 30 When the driver management section 30 starts the driver management processing, the driver management section 30 first waits until the event detecting unit 31 detects the print processing carried out by the information processing apparatus 1 ′ (“NO” in a step 301 ). Then, when the event detecting unit 31 detects that the print processing has been carried out (“YES” in the step 301 ), the printer monitoring unit 33 obtains the number of the printers registered to the information processing apparatus 1 ′, namely the number of the registered printer drivers 20 (step 302 ). Then, the use frequency determining unit 34 compares the number of the printers obtained by the printer monitoring unit 33 with the number of the printers (threshold) set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 32 .
- step 304 If the number of the registered printers exceeds the specified number (“YES” in a step 303 ), registration removal processing for the printers is carried out (step 304 ). On the other hand, if the number of the registered printers does not exceed the specified number (“NO” in the step 303 ), the registration removal processing for the printers is not carried out.
- the registration removal processing for the printers in the step 304 is similar to the registration removal processing for the printers in the first embodiment (see FIG. 4 ), and thus, a description thereof is omitted.
- the uninstalling conditions other than the frequency of use of the printer may be set in the respective above-described embodiments, a description will now be given of a case where the uninstalling conditions other than the frequency of use of the printer are set for the configuration of the first embodiment.
- FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus 1 ′′ in the fourth embodiment.
- the information processing apparatus 1 ′′ includes a driver management section 40 .
- the driver management section 40 manages printers registered to the information processing apparatus 1 ′′ by operating printer drivers 20 .
- the driver management section 40 further includes a timer unit 41 , an uninstalling condition setting unit 42 , a printer monitoring unit 43 , an uninstalling condition determining section 44 , and a registration removal processing unit 45 .
- the timer unit 41 , the uninstalling condition setting unit 42 , the printer monitoring unit 43 , the uninstalling condition determining section 44 , and the registration removal processing unit 45 basically correspond to the timer unit 11 , the uninstalling condition setting unit 12 , the printer monitoring unit 13 , the use frequency determining unit 14 , and the registration removal processing unit 15 in the first embodiment respectively.
- the uninstalling conditions set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 42 and the determination processing performed by the uninstalling condition determining section 44 are different from those in the first embodiment. The different portions will be described below.
- FIG. 9 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen in the fourth embodiment.
- the uninstalling conditions are set by displaying such an uninstalling condition setting screen as shown in FIG. 9 on a display unit (not shown) of the information processing apparatus 1 ′′, and receiving instructions from a user though the uninstalling condition setting screen.
- the setting of the uninstalling conditions include a setting as to whether the monitor of the printers, namely the driver management section 10 , is used or not, a setting as to what conditions are used for selecting the printers, and specifying as to whether the printer drives of the selected printers are uninstalled and/or backed up, if the number of the registered printers exceeds a threshold for the removal of the printer registrations.
- the conditions for selecting the printers may include “time and date on which the printer is used last”, “time and date of the registration of the printer”, “the same type of printers are registered”, and the like, and values of the respective conditions may be specified.
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the registration removal processing for the printers in the fourth embodiment.
- the printer monitoring unit 43 first obtains printer information on the registered printers (step 431 ).
- the printer information includes information indicating the frequency of use of the printers and information indicating the registered time and data, and the time and date on which the printer used last.
- the printer monitoring unit 43 obtains the printer information from all the registered printers (step 432 ).
- the uninstalling condition determining section 44 selects printers which meet the selection conditions based on the obtained printer information and the selection conditions for the printers set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 42 (step 433 ). Then, if the uninstalling condition setting unit 42 has specified the backup of the printers (“YES” in the step 434 ), the registration removal processing unit 45 backs up the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 435 ), and then, uninstalls the printer drivers (step 436 ). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes.
- the registration removal processing unit 45 uninstalls the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 436 ). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes.
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to a printer management method, a printer management apparatus, and a program for printer management, and more particularly to a printer management method, a printer management apparatus, and a program for printer management that manage printers usable in an information processing apparatus.
- Recently, as network technology has been developed and spread widely, there are increasing occasions where information processing apparatuses such as PC's (personal computers) are connected with printers via a network, and the information processing apparatuses use the printers through the network.
- When a plurality of information processing apparatuses are connected with a plurality of printers through the network, these information processing apparatuses can share one of the plurality of the printers, and also each of the information processing apparatuses can use the plurality of printers. Therefore, recently, information processing apparatus tends to register a plurality of printers as available printers. This tendency is more significant for portable information processing apparatuses. In such a portable information processing apparatus, a plurality of printers are registered depending on the networks with which the portable information processing apparatus is connected.
- However, the printers registered to the information processing apparatus, once they are used, are not always used again. Some printers are never used again. However, such printers that are never used again are kept to be registered to the information processing apparatus as unnecessary printers. These unnecessary printers may act as a disturbance in selecting a printer to be used.
- To cope with the above problem, such a technology has been proposed that when an information processing apparatus carries out print processing and completes the print processing, a printer driver used in the print processing is uninstalled so as to avoid an increase of unnecessary printers (see Japanese patent application publication No. 2001-306278, for example).
- As describe above, in the technology described in the Japanese patent application publication No. 2001-306278, the printer driver which has been used in a print processing is uninstalled when the print processing is completed. Therefore, for a printer to be used plural times, it is necessary to install a printer driver of the printer each time the print processing is carried out.
- It is further proposed that the technology described in the Japanese patent application publication No. 2001-306278 is modified so that the printer driver is uninstalled when the print processing has been carried out prescribed plural times. However, the frequency of use differs between daily-used printers and other printers. Therefore, this modified technology is not adequate for the situations in which such daily-used printers exist in the registered printers.
- The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a printer management method, a printer management apparatus, and a program for printer management that determine printers to be removed from the registration based on the various conditions such as situations of using printers, thereby preventing unnecessary printers from being kept to be registered to an information processing apparatus.
- According to an aspect of the present invention, a printer management method for managing printers available for an information processing apparatus is configured as comprising the steps of obtaining the number of the printers registered to the information processing apparatus; and removing the registration of the printer meeting a prescribed condition, if the obtained registered number exceeds a prescribed value.
- With the above configuration, if the number of the printers registered to the information processing apparatus exceeds the prescribed value, the printers that meet a prescribed condition are removed from the registrations. As a result, in selecting a printer for use in a print processing, the selection operations are not obstructed by unnecessary printers.
- Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following drawings, wherein:
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FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an example an information processing apparatus to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied; -
FIG. 2 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen; -
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing by adriver management section 10; -
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a registration removal processing for printers; -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus in a second embodiment; -
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing by adriver management section 30; -
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing according to a third embodiment; -
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus in a fourth embodiment; -
FIG. 9 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen in the fourth embodiment; and -
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a registration removal processing for printers in the fourth embodiment. - A detailed description will now be given of embodiments of a printer management method, a printer management apparatus, and a program for printer management according to the present invention with reference to accompanying drawings.
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FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an information processing apparatus to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. As shown inFIG. 1 , theinformation processing apparatus 1 includes adriver management section 10. Thedriver management section 10 manages printers registered to theinformation processing apparatus 1 byoperating printer drivers 20. - The
driver management section 10 comprises atimer unit 11, an uninstallingcondition setting unit 12, aprinter monitoring unit 13, a usefrequency determining unit 14, and a registrationremoval processing unit 15. - The
timer unit 11 measures a time interval for causing thedriver management section 10 to periodically carry out management processing for the printer drivers. The uninstallingcondition setting unit 12 sets conditions for determining printers that are to be removed from the registration as unnecessary printers. Theprinter monitoring unit 13 obtains the number of theprinter drivers 20 installed on theinformation processing apparatus 1, and respective frequencies of use of theprinter drivers 20. The usefrequency determining unit 14 determines printers that are to be removed from the registration as unnecessary printers based on the conditions set by the uninstallingcondition setting unit 12, if the number of the printer drivers obtained by theprinter monitoring unit 13 exceeds the number set by the uninstallingcondition setting unit 12. The registrationremoval processing unit 15 uninstalls and/or backs up theprinter drivers 20 of the printers determined as unnecessary printers by the usefrequency determining unit 14, and then removes the registrations of these printers. - The
driver management section 10 is operated by causing theinformation processing apparatus 1 to operate based on a driver management program. - A description will now be given of the uninstalling conditions set by the uninstalling
condition setting unit 12.FIG. 2 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen. - The uninstalling conditions are set by displaying such an uninstalling condition setting screen as shown in
FIG. 2 on a display unit (not shown) of theinformation processing apparatus 1, and receiving the instructions from a user through the uninstalling condition setting screen. The setting of the uninstalling conditions include a setting as to whether the monitor of the printers, namely thedriver management section 10, is used or not, and specifying as to whether the printer drivers of the printers with a low frequency of use are uninstalled and/or backed up, if the number of the registered printers exceeds a threshold for the removal of the printer registrations. The backup of the printer means the processing of storing a group of files constituting the printer driver, and a file in which settings of the printer driver are recorded, in a memory unit (not shown) of theinformation processing apparatus 1. Then, uninstalling of the printer driver is performed. Thus, the processing allows a subsequent recovery of the printer driver. - A description will now be given of an operation of the
driver management section 10.FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing performed by thedriver management section 10. - When the
driver management section 10 starts the driver management processing, theprinter monitoring unit 13 first obtains the number of the printers registered to theinformation processing apparatus 1, namely the number of the installed printer drivers 20 (step 101). Then, the usefrequency determining unit 14 compares the number of the printers obtained by theprinter monitoring unit 13 with the number of the printers (threshold) set by the uninstallingcondition setting unit 12. If the number of the registered printers exceeds the specified number (“YES” in a step 102), registration removal processing for the printers described later is carried out (step 103), and the operation is waited for a specified time period (step 104). On the other hand, if the number of the registered printers does not exceed the specified number (“NO” in the step 102), the registration removal processing for the printers is not carried out, and the operation is waited for the specified time period (step 104). During the wait of the operation for the specified time period in thestep 104, the specified time period is measured by thetimer unit 11, and when the specified time period has elapsed, thedriver management section 10 returns the operation to thestep 101, and repeats the same processing. - A description will now be given of the registration removal processing in the
step 103.FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the registration removal processing for the printers. - In the registration removal processing for the printers, the
printer monitoring unit 13 first obtains printer information on the registered printers (step 131). The printer information includes at least information indicating the frequency of use of the printers. Theprinter monitoring unit 13 obtains the printer information from all of the registered printers (step 132). - When the
printer monitoring unit 13 has obtained the printer information from all the registered printers, the usefrequency determining unit 14 selects printers whose frequency of use is the lowest based on the obtained printer information (step 133). Then, if the uninstallingcondition setting unit 12 has specified the backup of the printers (“YES” in a step 134), the registrationremoval processing unit 15 backs up the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 135), and then, uninstalls the printer drivers (step 136). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes. On the other hand, if the uninstallingcondition setting unit 12 has specified the uninstallation of the printers (“NO” in the step 134), the registrationremoval processing unit 15 uninstalls the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 136). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes. -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of aninformation processing apparatus 1′ in a second embodiment. As shown inFIG. 5 , theinformation processing apparatus 1′ includes adriver management section 30. Thedriver management section 30 manages printers registered to theinformation processing apparatus 1′ by operatingprinter drivers 20. - The
driver management section 30 further includes anevent detecting unit 31, an uninstallingcondition setting unit 32, aprinter monitoring unit 33, a usefrequency determining unit 34, and a registrationremoval processing unit 35. - The
event detecting unit 31 detects events occurring in theinformation processing apparatus 1′, and especially detects a request for registering a printer from a user. The uninstallingcondition setting unit 32, theprinter monitoring unit 33, the usefrequency determining unit 34, and the registrationremoval processing unit 35 respectively correspond to the uninstallingcondition setting unit 12, theprinter monitoring unit 13, the usefrequency determining unit 14, and the registrationremoval processing unit 15 in the first embodiment. - It should be noted that the
driver management section 30 is operated by causing theinformation processing apparatus 1′ to operate based on a driver management program. The driver management program may be constituted as a part of an installer which installs the printer driver. - A description will now be given of operations of the
driver management section 30.FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing by thedriver management section 30. - When the
driver management section 30 starts the driver management processing, thedriver management section 30 first waits until theevent detecting unit 31 detects a request for registering a printer from a user (“NO” in a step 201). Then, if theevent detecting unit 31 detects the request for registering a printer (“YES” in the step 201), theprinter monitoring unit 33 obtains the number of the printers registered to theinformation processing apparatus 1′, namely the number of the registered printer drivers 20 (step 202). Then, the usefrequency determining unit 34 compares the number of the printers obtained by theprinter monitoring unit 33 with the number of the printers (threshold) set by the uninstallingcondition setting unit 32. If the number of the registered printers exceeds the specified number (“YES” in a step 203), registration removal processing for the printers is carried out (step 204). On the other hand, if the number of the registered printers does not exceed the specified number (“NO” in the step 203), the registration removal processing for the printers is not carried out. - If the driver management program realizing the
driver management section 30 is constituted as the part of the installer which installs the printer driver, registration processing for a printer is subsequently carried out (step 205). - The registration removal processing for the printers in the
step 204 is similar to the registration removal processing for the printers in the first embodiment (seeFIG. 4 ), and thus, a description thereof is omitted. - In a third embodiment, a basic configuration of an information processing apparatus is similar to that of the
information processing apparatus 1′ in the second embodiment (seeFIG. 5 ). Therefore, a description will be given with reference toFIG. 5 . - The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that, in the third embodiment, the
event detecting unit 31 detects execution of print processing based on theprinter driver 20. - Further, a driver management program realizing the
driver management section 30 in the third embodiment may be constituted as a part of the printer driver. - A description will now be given of operations of the
driver management section 30 in the third embodiment.FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of driver management processing in the third embodiment. - When the
driver management section 30 starts the driver management processing, thedriver management section 30 first waits until theevent detecting unit 31 detects the print processing carried out by theinformation processing apparatus 1′ (“NO” in a step 301). Then, when theevent detecting unit 31 detects that the print processing has been carried out (“YES” in the step 301), theprinter monitoring unit 33 obtains the number of the printers registered to theinformation processing apparatus 1′, namely the number of the registered printer drivers 20 (step 302). Then, the usefrequency determining unit 34 compares the number of the printers obtained by theprinter monitoring unit 33 with the number of the printers (threshold) set by the uninstallingcondition setting unit 32. If the number of the registered printers exceeds the specified number (“YES” in a step 303), registration removal processing for the printers is carried out (step 304). On the other hand, if the number of the registered printers does not exceed the specified number (“NO” in the step 303), the registration removal processing for the printers is not carried out. - The registration removal processing for the printers in the
step 304 is similar to the registration removal processing for the printers in the first embodiment (seeFIG. 4 ), and thus, a description thereof is omitted. - In a fourth embodiment, a description will be given of a case where conditions other than the frequency of use of the printer may also be set as the uninstalling conditions for removing the registration of the printer. Although the uninstalling conditions other than the frequency of use of the printer may be set in the respective above-described embodiments, a description will now be given of a case where the uninstalling conditions other than the frequency of use of the printer are set for the configuration of the first embodiment.
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FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of aninformation processing apparatus 1″ in the fourth embodiment. As shown inFIG. 8 , theinformation processing apparatus 1″ includes adriver management section 40. Thedriver management section 40 manages printers registered to theinformation processing apparatus 1″ by operatingprinter drivers 20. - The
driver management section 40 further includes atimer unit 41, an uninstallingcondition setting unit 42, aprinter monitoring unit 43, an uninstallingcondition determining section 44, and a registrationremoval processing unit 45. - The
timer unit 41, the uninstallingcondition setting unit 42, theprinter monitoring unit 43, the uninstallingcondition determining section 44, and the registrationremoval processing unit 45 basically correspond to thetimer unit 11, the uninstallingcondition setting unit 12, theprinter monitoring unit 13, the usefrequency determining unit 14, and the registrationremoval processing unit 15 in the first embodiment respectively. However, the uninstalling conditions set by the uninstallingcondition setting unit 42 and the determination processing performed by the uninstallingcondition determining section 44 are different from those in the first embodiment. The different portions will be described below. - A description will now be given of the uninstalling conditions set by the uninstalling
condition setting unit 42.FIG. 9 shows an example of an uninstalling condition setting screen in the fourth embodiment. - The uninstalling conditions are set by displaying such an uninstalling condition setting screen as shown in
FIG. 9 on a display unit (not shown) of theinformation processing apparatus 1″, and receiving instructions from a user though the uninstalling condition setting screen. The setting of the uninstalling conditions include a setting as to whether the monitor of the printers, namely thedriver management section 10, is used or not, a setting as to what conditions are used for selecting the printers, and specifying as to whether the printer drives of the selected printers are uninstalled and/or backed up, if the number of the registered printers exceeds a threshold for the removal of the printer registrations. - The conditions for selecting the printers may include “time and date on which the printer is used last”, “time and date of the registration of the printer”, “the same type of printers are registered”, and the like, and values of the respective conditions may be specified.
- A description will now be given of operations of the
driver management section 40. The operations of thedriver management section 40 are similar to those of thedriver management section 10 in the first embodiment except for the registration removal processing for the printers, and thus, a description will be given only of operations of the registration removal processing for the printers.FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of the registration removal processing for the printers in the fourth embodiment. - In the registration removal processing for the printers, the
printer monitoring unit 43 first obtains printer information on the registered printers (step 431). The printer information includes information indicating the frequency of use of the printers and information indicating the registered time and data, and the time and date on which the printer used last. Theprinter monitoring unit 43 obtains the printer information from all the registered printers (step 432). - When the
printer monitoring unit 43 has obtained the printer information from all the registered printers, the uninstallingcondition determining section 44 selects printers which meet the selection conditions based on the obtained printer information and the selection conditions for the printers set by the uninstalling condition setting unit 42 (step 433). Then, if the uninstallingcondition setting unit 42 has specified the backup of the printers (“YES” in the step 434), the registrationremoval processing unit 45 backs up the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 435), and then, uninstalls the printer drivers (step 436). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes. On the other hand, if the uninstallingcondition setting unit 42 has specified the removal of the registration of the printers (“NO” in the step 434), the registrationremoval processing unit 45 uninstalls the printer drivers of the selected printers (step 436). Thus, the registration removal processing for the printers completes.
Claims (15)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2004082796A JP2005267544A (en) | 2004-03-22 | 2004-03-22 | Printer managing method and device, and program |
JP2004-082796 | 2004-03-22 |
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US20050206938A1 true US20050206938A1 (en) | 2005-09-22 |
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US10/936,588 Expired - Fee Related US7495790B2 (en) | 2004-03-22 | 2004-09-09 | Removing the registration of the printer meeting a prescribed condition, if the obtained registered number exceeds a prescribed value |
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US (1) | US7495790B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2005267544A (en) |
Cited By (9)
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EP1764689A2 (en) * | 2005-09-01 | 2007-03-21 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Program and method for managing device drivers |
US20070177198A1 (en) * | 2006-01-30 | 2007-08-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Data Processing Device for Renaming Virtual Device |
US20070177202A1 (en) * | 2006-01-30 | 2007-08-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Data Processing Device for Renaming Virtual Device |
US20070177178A1 (en) * | 2006-01-30 | 2007-08-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Data Processing Device for Renaming Virtual Device |
US20070273922A1 (en) * | 2006-05-29 | 2007-11-29 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Information processing apparatus, printing system, monitoring method, program, and storage medium |
US20090300661A1 (en) * | 2008-05-28 | 2009-12-03 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Installer System and Installer Program |
US20120092693A1 (en) * | 2010-10-18 | 2012-04-19 | Aventura Hq, Inc. | Centralized print driver distribution in a distributed printing environment |
US20120133982A1 (en) * | 2010-11-29 | 2012-05-31 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Printing system and information processing apparatus |
US20210303219A1 (en) * | 2020-03-31 | 2021-09-30 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program |
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JP5025318B2 (en) * | 2007-05-01 | 2012-09-12 | キヤノン株式会社 | Image processing apparatus, image processing apparatus control method, and image processing apparatus control program |
JP5370253B2 (en) * | 2010-04-27 | 2013-12-18 | ブラザー工業株式会社 | Control device, program, and management method |
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US20050207763A1 (en) * | 2004-03-17 | 2005-09-22 | Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. | Driver management method, driver management apparatus and program for driver management |
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JP2001306278A (en) | 2000-04-26 | 2001-11-02 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Printing system |
KR100484151B1 (en) * | 2002-08-08 | 2005-04-18 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Method and apparatus for controlling print operation |
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Patent Citations (1)
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US20050207763A1 (en) * | 2004-03-17 | 2005-09-22 | Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. | Driver management method, driver management apparatus and program for driver management |
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US20070083679A1 (en) * | 2005-09-01 | 2007-04-12 | Hiroshi Kikuchi | Program and method for managing device driver and information processing apparatus |
US7730224B2 (en) | 2005-09-01 | 2010-06-01 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Program and method for managing device driver and information processing apparatus |
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US20070177178A1 (en) * | 2006-01-30 | 2007-08-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Data Processing Device for Renaming Virtual Device |
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US20070177198A1 (en) * | 2006-01-30 | 2007-08-02 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Data Processing Device for Renaming Virtual Device |
US8020175B2 (en) | 2006-01-30 | 2011-09-13 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Data processing device for renaming virtual device |
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US8051434B2 (en) | 2006-01-30 | 2011-11-01 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Data processing device for renaming virtual device |
US20070273922A1 (en) * | 2006-05-29 | 2007-11-29 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Information processing apparatus, printing system, monitoring method, program, and storage medium |
US8804162B2 (en) * | 2006-05-29 | 2014-08-12 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Information processing apparatus, printing system, monitoring method, program, and storage medium |
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US20120092693A1 (en) * | 2010-10-18 | 2012-04-19 | Aventura Hq, Inc. | Centralized print driver distribution in a distributed printing environment |
US20120133982A1 (en) * | 2010-11-29 | 2012-05-31 | Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Printing system and information processing apparatus |
US20210303219A1 (en) * | 2020-03-31 | 2021-09-30 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program |
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